Isaiah 6:11

6:11 I replied, “How long, sovereign master?” He said,

“Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,

and houses are uninhabited,

and the land is ruined and devastated,

Jeremiah 9:19

9:19 For the sound of wailing is soon to be heard in Zion.

They will wail, ¹  ‘We are utterly ruined! ²  We are completely disgraced!

For our houses have been torn down

and we must leave our land.’” ³ 

Zephaniah 3:7

3:7 I thought, ⁴  ‘Certainly you will respect ⁵  me!

Now you will accept correction!’

If she had done so, her home ⁶  would not be destroyed ⁷ 

by all the punishments I have threatened. ⁸ 

But they eagerly sinned

in everything they did. ⁹ 

[9:19]  ¹ tn The words “They will wail” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to make clear that this is the wailing that will be heard.

[9:19]  ² tn Heb “How we are ruined!”

[9:19]  ³ tn The order of these two lines has been reversed for English stylistic reasons. The text reads in Hebrew “because we have left our land because they have thrown down our dwellings.” The two clauses offer parallel reasons for the cries “How ruined we are! [How] we are greatly disgraced!” But the first line must contain a prophetic perfect (because the lament comes from Jerusalem) and the second a perfect referring to a destruction that is itself future. This seems the only way to render the verse that would not be misleading.

[3:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “said.”

[3:7]  ⁵ tn Or “fear.” The second person verb form (“you will respect”) is feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed.

[3:7]  ⁶ tn Or “dwelling place.”

[3:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.

[3:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “But they got up early, they made corrupt all their actions.” The phrase “they got up early” probably refers to their eagerness to engage in sinful activities.